1. The Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates to an improved strip form screw and in particular to a strip of screws stamped and formed from a continuous web of metal stock.
2. The Prior Art
The conventional method of assembly utilizing a plurality of loose piece fasteners is both slow and costly since the operators must handle each individual fastener. Some improvement in speed and reduction in cost can be achieved by providing the fasteners in strip form in an applicator tool. A conventional stapler is an illustration of fasteners in cartridge form loaded in a manual applicator tool. Many times though, it is unsatisfactory to use staples, nails and the like since the assembled part must have the ability of being disassembled for repair and/or replacement.
It has been known that fasteners, such as screws and the like, can be formed in strip form for machine assembly. An example of such a strip form of screw is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,279,401. However, the strip of screws shown in this patent is apparently molded in a nose to tail form and thus would be very expensive to produce. It would also have the disadvantage of being rather limited in length and therefore be suitable only for operations in which frequent reloading of the applicator tool would not be a handicap. Somewhat of an improvement is shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,211,352 and 3,554,246 in which a plurality of fasting devices, nails and screws, respectively, are strip fed into a machine for application. The nails and screws are held in rather expensive carrier strips which are removed from the fastener as it is applied. This causes problems in initially forming the strip of fasteners.